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Session 2 - Damned Dirty Goblins
That evening, although saddened by the deaths of the baker and his son at the hands of the wolves, and the imminent departure of the town heroes, Three Mills comes together for a massive celebration and send off feast. About a hundred locals gather in the town centre, setting up tables of food. Kegs of ale and wineskins flow freely in honour of the town's champions. The tavern owners bring out their fiddles; one of them has even written an impromptu song about the party saving the town from wolves called, “The Five Heroes from Three Mills.” While flattering the song is, frankly, awful, though the heroes suffer through the excessive verses. Gratingly, the townsfolk take up the song with zest, cheering: Oh, the heroes, the five heroes of Three Mills, Sending those wolves running back to the hills, Oh the heroes, the five heroes of Three Mills, They'll save the day every day Once that ordeal is over the tavern keepers accompany dancing in the town square. No one can remember the last time the town celebrated like this. The next morning is one full of tearful goodbyes. Hazel, though saddened to see her friends go, decides to stay as a protector of the town--a relief to the townsfolk in these troubling times. A few people Mindratis has had shady dealings with pull him aside and give him the names of a couple of people and establishments he could get in touch with if he ends up going to Bridgton, the Magisterial seat of the Directorate in the region. The contacts might be able to help him out or give him some work. They wish the young elven rogue well on his way. The father of Phryne, the half-orc fighter, breaks down into tears to see his little girl go… he always does this when she leaves town… In between gasping sobs, he manages to give her a crude necklace. The ornament is a red hand with an orcish design on it. “This was your mom’s… maybe… maybe you can find her with it… or whatever happened to her… if you end up going west…" he gets out in between tearful gasps. "I love you so much Phran-Phran!” He breaks down into unintelligible sobbing and has to be lead away by a couple of friends. The mother of Aubrey, a monk and descendent of an air spirit, hugs him tight and tells him to be safe and not push himself too hard or do anything stupid, though she knows that he will anyways. Before he goes she grabs his hand, looks him in the eye for a moment, leans in close and whispers, “Your father told me to never tell you his name or he’d come back and blow the village down… but damn him to Nine Hells, his name is Khamsin.” She smiles at her son, wipes a tear out of her eye, says, “I’m so proud of you,” and then walks back to their house. Vanderjesus, the tiefling sorcerer, noticed that the vagabond who took her in and raised her wasn’t present at the celebrations last night, and he isn’t there to say goodbye this morning. She's not surprised, the vagabond has a habit of disappearing for months at a time without a word. A child walks up to her and tugs at Vanderjesus' sleeve. “The wizard told me to give you this…” He hands her an intricately designed, tiny mechanical spider. The gesture is lost on Vanderjesus. He may have taken care of her, but that guy was always a weirdo. They begin by checking out the dead wolves, set aside to be skinned. The abnormally large wolf, up close, is even stranger. It appears to have strange growths and bulges unnaturally, and even has slight scaling. Not like anything they've ever seen before. Vanderjesus posits its the work of a "mad scientist experiment," the others suspect the vagabond, believed to be a wizard by locals. The heroes ask around town, and find two ancient stone markers on the east end of town. According to one of the town elders, these markers lead to the glade of the forest spirit. They make their way through the woods, temporarily waylaid by a single, vicious rat-creature who, when defeated, reverts to human form, beaten off by attacks from the party and crisped by Vanderjesus' spells. "Well, you're a little overdone," Vanderjesus quips, flipping her hair, scoffing, and leading the party onward. The heroes find the glade of the forest spirit and, after answering the riddles of three talking trees, a beautiful, slim figure steps out from the woods, two growling wolves at their side. The figure resemble an elf, but with an extraordinary, almost blinding beauty, and a much more wild look, bits of twigs and flowers braided into their long, golden hair. “What brings you to my glade, mortals?” the spirit asks in Common, placing their hands on the wolves’ heads, and the animals whine a little and before sitting, looking a little ashamed. The heroes, though cautious at first of the spirit, realize that the spirit is not responsible for the attacks, but a guardian of the forest in the service of Oakheart. The Forest Spirit explains that a group of goblins, far from the mountain region in the east, has invaded the wolves’ territory in a ravine a little ways north of the glade. The guardian would go and attempt to deal with the invaders of the forest, but they have their hands full just keeping order among the animals, and fending off larger monsters from the region. “This is only the most recent incident of growing unrest in our lands," the spirit explains. "The trees whisper rumours, passed from glen to dale, fauna to flora, from forest to forest. A shadow is spreading from the east. It seeks to tip the balance, throw the land into chaos. It eats but its belly is never full. It does not mind the old ways of balance. This is what the trees whisper." “Perhaps you will go forth for these forests and investigate this encroaching darkness," the forest spirit continues. "If you stay the shadow will find you eventually, but if you go your powers will grow forth, like a tree from a sapling. Will you confront the shadow?” The heroes express that a little aid wouldn't hurt. The spirit of the forest grants them a magical ring that looks like several gold leaves banded together, which will protect the wearer. The forest spirit waves their hand, and the trees and bushes at the far end of the glade part, forming a path. The spirit says that the forest can no longer keep out the shadows, and hopes the heroes will go forth and confront the evil before transforming into a giant owl and flying away. The heroes aren't thrilled they only got a ring out of the exchange, but they carry on. The heroes follow the path a ways further, eventually coming to a bluff overlooking a ravine. They spot three goblins, hairy, ugly little creatures, milling about the mouth of a cavern, near a small campsite with a despondent looking mule is tethered nearby. Mindratis and Aubrey creep along the bluff, before the elven rogue leaps from the bushes and looses an arrow. Phryne backflips off the bluff and charges towards the goblins, while Vanderjesus unleashes a spell, a deathly hand, but misses. Aubrey joins the fray, vaulting off the bluff with his quarterstaff, and soon between the fighters and the volley of arrows, the goblins are downed. Mindratis collects the head of a goblin as a trophy and his companions, though mostly used to his quirks after years of friendship, are a bit creeped out. Searching the camp, Aubrey uncovers some mining equipment and a lantern. What to do with mule? They untie it, although it seems unwilling to accept its newfound freedom, so the heroes bring them miserable creature along with them into the cavern. The heroes press forth into the cavern, Vanderjesus and Mindratis uncovering a pit trap within. The go deeper and Phryne leads the heroes into a cavern where two orcs stand guard. Playing the sexy lady orc part, she attempts to convince the orcs she's with them, and has captured prisoners. They don't believe her and are instead happy for the chance to fight, though the heroes down the brutes quickly. Mindratis takes an orc ear as a prize, turning it into a necklace, to Phryne's consternation. Further on, Vanderjesus peers around the corner to see a number of goblins in a large cavern. The heroes charge in. The goblins appear to be mining, though a few are gathered around a chest at the end. The goblins leap into battle, joined by the boss goblin who, if anything, is more hideous than the regular goblins. He’s broader than his minions, and unnaturally muscular, with muscles bulging, lumpy and uneven, teeth grown in shockingly crooked, a twisted face. When the boss joins the battle he cuts down Phryne, and Aubrey is downed by the minions. Vanderjesus and Mindratis, at first avoiding direct combat, down one of the attackers and draw another into the cavern where they downed the orcs. After two of his minions are defeated, the larger goblin confronts the rogue and sorcerer, though they managed to kill the boss. The other two goblins, terrified at the death of their boss, drop their weapons. Mindratis enters the large chamber and throws the head of the goblin he'd collected earlier at their feet, and they cower in the corner. Attending to their friends, Mindratis and Vanderjesus find that Aubrey is injured but stable, and eventually gains conciousness. Their fierce fighter, however, is dead. They sweep the cavern, opening a locked chest and finding some treasures within, though Mindratis dispatches the remaining two goblins, perhaps out of vengeance for his friend. The friends don't know what to do. Although they've defeated the goblins, their friend is dead. Powerful spellcasters are known to have the ability to revive the dead, so maybe someone in Bridgton will be able to help them? Phryne's angry spirit looks on the scene from beyond. The despondent mule offers no commentary.